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LIBRARY  FACILITY 

BRYANT 
Letter  to  Hon,  Charles 
Sumner • 


F 

291 

B91 


A    LETTER 


TO 


Hon.  CHARLES  SUMNER, 

OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  SENATE, 


EXPOSING  THE 


BULLOCK-BLODGETT  RING 


IN  THEIR  ATTEMPT  TO 


Defeat  the  Bingham  Amendment. 


Washinbton,  D.  C, 

GIBSON  BROTHERS,  PRINTERS. 

1870. 


Hon.  Charles  Sumner,  U.  S.  S.: 

Dear  Sir. — Permit  me  to  address  you  upon  a  subject  of 
great  importance  to  the  colored  people  of  Georgia  to  the  Re- 
publican party  of  that  State,  and,  in  my  judgment,  to  the 
Republican  party  of  the  nation. 

As  I  address  you  upon  a  subject  of  such  vast  importance, 
you  will  permit  me  to  allude  to  my  anti-slavery  and  Repub- 
lican record,  to  show  that  I  have  a  right  to  speak  upon  that 
subject. 

I  am  a  native  of  the  State  of  Maine  ;  my  father  was  an 
anti-slavery  man  ;  and  from  my  earliest  boyhood  I  sympa- 
thized with  his  views.  At  school  I  was  known  as  an  earnest 
advocate  of  the  anti-slavery  cause,  and  an  outspoken  friend 
of  the  negro.  At  a  time  when  it  was  very  unpopular  to  do 
so,  I  demanded  that  young  Burns,  a  negro  boy  from  Liberia, 
a  schoolmate  of  mine,  who  was  being  educated  at  Kent's 
Hill,  Maine,  should  have  the  same  rights  that  white  students 
had,  and,  through  my  instrumentality,  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  literary  society  of  that  school.  I  threw  my 
first  vote  for  John  C.  Fremont,  for  President,  in  1856.  I 
entered  the  army  at  the  commencement  of  the  war  as  captain 
in  the  8th  Maine  infantry,  and  served  three  years.  I  went 
with  the  expedition  that  captured  the  Port  Royal  islands  in 
South  Carolina.  I  was,  I  believe,  the  first  officer  of  a  white 
regiment  who  tendered  his  services  to  General  Rufus  Saxton 
to  assist  in  organizing  the  colored  regiments  raised  by  him 
in  South  Carolina,  and  I  served  seventeen  months  on  his 
staff. 

The  following  letter,  given  to  me  by  that  distinguished 
officer  and  well-known  friend  of  the  colored  race,  will  show 
his  opinion  of  me  : 


Headquarters  Department  of  the  South, 
Chief  Quartermaster's  Office,  Atlanta,  Ga.,  1869. 
General  U.  S.  Grant, 

President  of  the  United  States  : 
Sir — I  would  respectfully  recommend  to  your  favorable  consideration  Colonel 
J.  E.  Bryant,  of  Augusta,  Georgia,  for  the  position  of  postmaster  of  that  city. 
To  a  brilliant  war  record  in  the  Union  army  Colonel  Bryant  has  added,  since  its 
close,  a  no  less  important  service  in  the  cause  of  reconstruction,  as  one  of  the  elec- 
tors for  the  State  of  Georgia,  chairman  of  the  State  Republican  Committee,  and 
an  influential  member  of  the  State  legislature.  As  a  man  of  excellent  business 
capacity,  active  and  intelligent,  upright  and  honest,  the  Government  funds  will 
be  safe  in  his  keeping.  In  my  judgment,  no  better  selection  could  be  made  for 
the  position  desired. 

I  am,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

RUFUS  SAXTON, 
Brevet  Br  iff.  Gen' I  and  Quartermaster,  U.  S.  A. 

I  assisted  to  organize  the  first  colored  regiment  raised  by 
him,  and  I  assisted  Jim  Montgomery  to  raise  the  second 
colored  regiment.  In  the  spring  of  1865  I  was  appointed 
colonel,  and  ordered  to  raise  a  colored  regiment,  which  I 
should  have  done  but  for  the  order  of  the  Secretary  of  War 
stopping  the  enlistment  of  colored  troops.  In  May,  1865,  I 
was  sent  by  General  Saxton  to  Augusta,  Ga.,  and  reached 
that  city  immediately  after  it  was  occupied  by  our  troops. 
I  was  instructed  to  exercise  jurisdiction  over  the  freedmen  of 
that  city  and  vicinity,  and  I  attended  to  my  duties  in  such  a 
manner  that  I  succeeded  in  gaining  the  love  of  the  colored 
people  and  the  hatred  of  the  white  people.  In  January, 
1866, 1  established  a  paper  in  Augusta — the  Loyal  Georgian — 
to  advocate  the  cause  of  the  colored  people,  and  commenced 
to  organize  them  into  an  association — the  Georgia  Equal 
Rights  Association,  of  which  I  was  elected  president.  I  suf- 
fered more  than  I  can  tell  during  that  year  in  my  efforts  to 
continue  the  publication  of  that  paper,  and  advocate  the 
cause  so  dear  to  me.  I  spent  my  own  money  freely,  and 
appealed  to  Northern  friends  to  assist  me.  Perhaps  you  will 
remember  having  signed  the  following  letter  : 

Washington,  D.  C,  July  27,  18G6. 

Few  men  at  the  North  can  appreciate  the  importance  of  maintaining  in  the  in- 
surrectionary districts  of  our  country  papers  in  which  the  freedmen  have  confi- 
dence, because  they  find  them  faithful  in  their  report  of  facts  and  opinions.  It  is 
of  the  utmost  importance. 

Such  a  paper  is  the  Loyal  Georgian.  I  have  read  every  number  of  it,  and  know 
its  value.     In  one  or  two  years  the  freedmen  and  white  Unionists  of  Georgia  will 


be  able  to  support  it,  but  it  must  have  aid  meanwhile,  and  I  beg  the  friends  of 
peace  and  union  to  sustain  it  by  generous  contributions. 

WILLIAM  D.  KELLEY. 
I  concur  in  the  above. 

JUSTIN  S.  MORRILL. 
I  wish  the  paper  great  success. 

CHARLES  SUMNER. 

In  the  fall  of  1866  I  was  a  member  of  the  Southern  Loy- 
alists' Convention,  held  in  Philadelphia,  and,  as  a  member 
of  the  committee  on  resolutions,  was  one  of  the  minority  that 
urged  the  adoption  of  a  resolution  favoring  the  reconstruc- 
tion of  the  rebel  States  by  Congress,  and  the  granting  of  po- 
litical rights  to  the  negro.  Hon.  Thomas  J.  Durant_,  of 
Louisiana,  now  of  this  city,  was  a  member  of  the  committee, 
and  will,  I  have  no  doubt,  bear  witness  to  what  I  have  said. 
In  the  winter  and  spring  of  1866  and  1867,  I  was  in  this 
city,  urging  upon  Congressmen  the  importance  of  giving  po- 
litical rights  to  the  negro.  I  was  a  member  of  the  Southern 
Loyalists'  Association,  and  united  with  them  in  urging  Con- 
gressional action  in  favor  of  the  negro.  After  the  passage  of 
the  reconstruction  acts,  I  assisted  in  organizing  the  Repub- 
lican party  of  Georgia.  In  regard  to  my  services  in  the 
cause  of  reconstruction,  I  respectfully  refer  you  to  a  letter 
recently  addressed  by  me  to  Hon.  H.  Hamlin,  a  copy  of 
which  I  hand  you  herewith.  The  Loyal  Georgian  was  sus- 
pended in  January,  1869,  for  reasons  over  which  I  had  no 
control,  but  the  Georgia  Republican,  the  Loyal  Georgian 
with  a  new  name,  was  issued  by  me  in  July  last.  The  pa- 
per advocates  equal  rights,  free  schools,  temperance. 

The  equal  political  and  legal  rights  of  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  except  those  who  have  been  convicted  of  crime, 
or  are  otherwise  rightfully  disqualified. 

The  enactment  of  State  laws  for  the  inauguration  and  sup- 
port of  a  system  of  common  schools. 

The  elevation  of  labor,  and  the  passage  of  such  laws  as 
will  protect  the  toiling  masses  of  society  in  their  just  and 
legal  rights. 

State  aid  to  important  works  of  internal  improvement. 

It  is  charged  that  I  am  a  Democrat ;  in  fact,  that  I  have 


''  gone  back"  on  my  past  record.  The  charge  is  false.  It  is 
true  that  as  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Georgia  I 
have  sometimes  voted  with  Democrats.  ''  Old  Thad.  Ste- 
vens" sometimes  voted  with  Democrats  when  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  Congress.  So  did  Generals  Logan,  Banks,  Schenck 
and  Garfield,  John  A.  Bingham  and  Mr.  Farnsworth,  and 
other  distinguished  Kepublicans,  vote  with  members  of  that 
party  on  an  important  proposition  only  a  few  days  since. 
Are  they  Democrats,  and  was  Mr.  Stevens  a  Democrat  ? 

VILLAINY  EXPOSED. 

I  did  much  to  make  Mr.  Bullock  Governor  of  Georgia. 
He  was  a  Northern  man  by  birth,  and  professed  to  be  a 
Union  man.  I  fully  trusted  him.  Soon  after  his  election  I 
had  reason  to  doubt  his  Kepublicanism^  on  account  of  the 
appointments  made  by  him.  I  believed  that  he  intended  to 
betray  the  Union  men  of  the  State,  because  he  appointed 
many  ex-rebels  and  Democrats  to  office.  Subsequent  events 
have  convinced  me  that  my  fears  were  correct.  Ex-rebels 
and  Democrats  have  been  appointed  to  important  offices, 
when  old  Union  men  and  Eepublicans,  natives  of  the  State, 
were  applicants  for  the  same  positions.  But  you  may  ask 
why  he  has  been  so  radical  in  Washington.  I  answer,  to 
get  control  of  the  General  Assembly  for  selfish  purposes. 
It  was  for  that  reason  that  he  urged  Congress  to  require  the 
^'iron-clad"  oath  in  the  reorganization  of  the  legislature, 
and  for  the  same  reason  he  urged  Congress  to  require  a 
harsher  oath  than  was  required  in  the  organization  of  the 
legislature  of  Virginia,  of  Mississippi,  or  of  Texas.  I  do 
not  believe  that  he  wanted  to  control  the  legislature  for  the 
good  of  the  Eepublican  party,  or  to  assist  colored  men  ;  but 
that  he  might  cover  up  financial  operations,  and  elect  Foster 
Blodgett  to  the  United  States  Senate. 

I  call  your  attention,  respectfully,  to  the  following  state- 
ment of  Hon.  N.  L.  Angier,  the  treasurer  of  Georgia.  Dr. 
Angier  is  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  but  has  lived  in 
Georgia  thirty  years.     He  earnestly  opposed  secession,  and 


when  the  war  commenced  left  Georgia  with  his  family, 
although  his  wife  was  a  Southern  woman,  and  although  he 
was  obliged  to  leave  a  large  property  in  Georgia.  He  did 
not  return  until  the  close  of  the  war.  Since  our  party  was 
organized,  he  has  been  an  earnest  Republican.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  constitutional  convention  ;  was  the  regular 
Republican  candidate  for  treasurer,  and  received  the  vote  of 
every  Republican  member  of  the  legislature.  He  is  a  man 
of  large  wealth,  and  no  man  in  Georgia  has  a  better  reputa- 
tion for  truths  honor  and  integrity. 

STATEMENT   OF   MR.    ANQIER. 

Governor  BullocJc's  Financial  Operations. — The  following 
drafts  were  drawn  by  Governor  Bullock  on  the  Fourth  Na- 
tional Bank,  New  York,  the  amounts  not  reported  by  him  or 
paid  into  the  State  treasury,  but  used  by  him  without  any 
appropriation,  and  in  direct  violation  of  law  : 

No.  New  York,  October  29,  1868. 

Fourth  National  Bank  of  the  city  of  New  York,  pay  to  the  order  of  C.  Burk 
seventeen  thousand  dollars. 

RUFUS  B.  BULLOCK, 

Governor  of  Georgia. 

No.  New  York,  December  3,  1868. 

Fourth  National  Bank  of  the  city  of  New  York,  pay  to  the  order  of  R.  B.  Bul- 
lock eight  thousand  dollars.     Charge  account  of  State. 

RUFUS  BULLOCK, 

Governor  of  Georgia. 

December  12,  1868. 
Pay  to  the  order  of  H.  F.  Kimball  ten  thousand  dollars,  and  charge  the  same 
to  the  account  of  the  State  of  Georgia. 

RUFUS  B.  BULLOCK,  Governor. 

To  ike  Fourth  National  Bank,  Neio  York. 

The  house  adopted  a  report — 86  to  37 — in  reference  to  the 
above  illegal  proceedings,  in  which  it  states  :  "  No  emer- 
gency existed  which  demanded  of  Governor  Bullock  this 
extraordinary  departure  from  the  law.  His  Excellency  acted 
in  direct  violation  of  the  known  will  of  the  legislature." 

Besides  the  above  $35,000  illegally  drawn  and  used  by 
him  without  warrant  or  appropriation,  in  open  defiance  of 
law,  after  being  fully  put  upon  his  notice  by  the  General 


Assembly  by  a  vote  of  over  two  to  one,  the  Governor  went 
directly  to  New  York  and  drew  the  following  draft : 

$20,000.  New  York,  March  27,  1869. 

At  sight,  pay  to  the  order  of  H.  F,  Kimball  twenty  thousand  dollars,  value 
received,  and  charge  the  same  to  the  account  of  the  State  of  Georgia. 

RUFUS  B.  BULLOCK,  GovernoT. 
To  the  Fourth  National  Bank,  New  York. 

None  of  which  has  ever  found  its  way  into  the  State  treas- 
ury, thus  assuming  arbitrary  powers,  wilfully  overriding 
both  the  constitution  and  the  laws. 

He  has  paid  attorneys  over  fifteen  thousand  dollars,  nine 
thousand  of  which  was  paid  in  less  than  thirty  days,  as 
retainers,  hoping  to  buy  influence. 

On  the  21st  of  November,  1868,  the  cashier  of  the  Georgia 
National  Bank  presented  the  Governor's  draft  on  the  Fourth 
National  Bank  of  New  York  for  $25,000,  and  voluntarily 
states  that  it  was  to  cover  Governor  Bullock's  individual 
indebtedness  to  this  bank. 

The  General  Assembly  appropriated  as  the  salary  of  the 
attorney  general  $2,000  ;  the  Governor  has  paid  him  over 
$6,000. 

He  has  paid  out  of  the  State  treasury  nearly  two  thousand 
dollars  to  light  Kimball's  Opera  House,  when  the  building 
had  not  been  used  for  State  purposes  over  six  times  at  night, 
none  of  the  State  ofHces  being  kept  open  nights. 

He  has  paid  under  a  pretence  as  guard  of  Executive  Man- 
sion, at  Milledgeville,  $1,400  a  year,  when  responsible  parties 
in  that  city  propose  to  take  special  care  of  the  buildings  and 
grounds  solely  for  the  use  of  the  grounds. 

In  1868,  he  paid  eight  executive  clerks,  besides  his  two 
secretaries,  when  the  law  allowed  only  the  two  secretaries. 

Last  year  the  legislature  restricted  him  to  one  clerk, 
besides  his  two  secretaries  ;  he  has  drawn  his  warrants  for 
five,  besides  his  secretaries. 

The  appropriations  for  1868  were  only  for  the  latter  half 
of  the  year  1868.  Still,  for  the  public  printing  of  1869,  he, 
in  violation  of  the  law,  drew  ten  thousand  back  on  1868, 
notwithstanding  the  house,  by  a  vote  of  over  three  to  one, 


directed  him  to  charge  it  as  an  advance  on  the  printing  fund 
of  1869.  This  he  did  that  he  might  save  his  $25,000  print- 
ing fund  to  silence  the  mouths  of  the  press. 

By  a  false  construction  of  the  23d  section  of  the  appropri- 
ation bill,  he  has  drawn  warrants  for  over  one  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars,  mostly  of  the  class  that  have  heretofore  been 
drawn  on  the  contingent  fund.  This  is  independent  of  the 
contingent  fund  of  $20,000,  which,  all  but  a  few  dollars,  he 
exhausted  in  less  than  six  months,  mostly  for  incidental 
expenses  of  executive  department.  He  drew  warrants  for 
$6,000  for  arresting  three  fugitives,  and  they  all  absconded 
shortly  after  the  warrants  were  drawn.  From  $50  to  $200 
has  heretofore  been  the  rewards  for  fugitives. 

As  an  evidence  of  his  interest  in  the  Kimball  Opera  House, 
a  portion  of  which  is  temporarily  used  as  a  State  house,  he 
labored  to  secure  the  influence  of  the  State  treasurer  in  favor 
of  paying  said  Kimball  $25,000  yearly  rent  for  only  a  por- 
tion of  the  least  valuable  part  of  a  building  that  could  not 
have  cost  Kimball  over  $100,000,  reserving  to  himself  all  the 
first-story  front  on  the  main  street,  most  the  entire  base- 
ment, and  a  large  number  of  rooms  in  the  upper  two  stories. 
The  acknowledged  purpose  of  the  Bullock  ring  is  to  sell  this 
house  to  the  State  for  $400,000,  that  could  not  have  cost 
Kimball  over  $150,000,  with  all  its  fixtures. 

The  law  requires  the  net  earnings  of  the  Western  and 
Atlantic  railroad  (which  road  belongs  to  the  State)  to  be 
paid  into  the  State  treasury  monthly.  The  payment  for  the 
month  of  September  is  the  last  that  has  been  received.  Gov- 
ernor Bullock  is  the  chief  officer  of  the  road.  Former  ad- 
ministrations paid  into  the  State  treasury,  of  net  earnings, 
from  $30,000  to  $50,000  monthly.  The  road  is  a  main  trunk 
road,  and  said,  by  the  best  of  judges,  to  be  doing  more  busi- 
ness now  than  it  ever  did  before.  Captain  Jones,  who  had 
been  State  treasurer  eight  years,  in  his  report  of  July  1, 
1867,  puts  the  net  earnings  at  $50,000  per  month  through 
the  year.  The  Macon  and  Western  railroad,  which  is  one 
of  three  roads  fed  from  this  State  trunk,  and  but  little  over 


10 

half  as  long  as  the  State  trunk,  pays  of  net  earnings  about 
$30,000  a  month.  The  other  two  in  about  the  same  propor- 
tion. Certain  amounts  are  known  to  have  been  paid  and 
loaned  to  individuals^  not  for  any  service  in  behalf  of  the 
road,  but  as  is  believed  to  purchase  influence  and  adherents. 
The  recipients  are  mostly  Democrats^  or  so  claim,  who  sus- 
tain Bullock,  but  abuse  President  Grant  and  the  Republican 
members  of  Congress  and  their  policy. 

There  are  many  other  illegal  transactions  which  we  have 

not  space  to  mention. 

N.  L.  ANGIER. 

Treasurer  of  State. 
WAsmNGTON,  D.  C,  February  9,  1870. 

ATTEMPT  TO  ELECT  FOSTER  BLODGETT  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES  SENATE 

IN  1867. 

Foster  Blodgett  was  a  candidate  for  the  United  States 
Senate  when  Messrs.  Hill  and  Miller  were  elected  in  1868, 
but  he  was  defeated  because  he  was  under  indictment  for 
perjury  in  the  United  States  district  court  at  Savannah.  The 
facts  are  these :  Mr.  Blodgett  was  an  officer  in  the  rebel 
army,  and  in  1865  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Augusta, 
Ga.,  and  took  the  "  iron-clad  "  oath.  The  grand  jury  that  in- 
dicted him  was  composed  entirely  of  Union  men,  all  of  whom 
took  the  "iron-clad"  oath,  and  all,  or  nearly  all,  of  whom 
were  Northern  men,  some  of  whom  I  know  to  be  Eepubli- 
cans.  Mr.  Blodgett  has  thus  far  prevented  a  trial.  Col.  John 
Milledge,  late  the  United  States  district  attorney  for  Geor- 
gia, told  me  that  Blodgett  and  his  friends  made  every  effort 
to  induce  him  to  enter  a  nol.  pros,  in  his  case,  but  that  the 
proof  was  so  strong  against  him  that  he  could  not  do  so,  and 
that  because  he  did  not^  Blodgett  and  his  friends  were  now 
bitterly  opposed  to  him.  I  call  your  attention,  respectfully, 
to  the  following  affidavits  : 

THE  BLODGETT  CASE. 

The  following  affidavits  were  made  to  be  read  before  Hon. 
M.  J.  Saffold,  late  supervisor  of  internal  revenue,  in  a  case 
before  him,  wherein  Mr.  Blodgett  was  a  witness.     The  origi- 


11 

nals  are  on  file  in  the  office  of  the  Commissioner  of  Internal 
Revenue.  The  affidavits  are  made  by  men  of  good  character, 
well  known  to  the  people  of  Augusta.  Some  of  them  gave 
testimony  before  the  grand  jury  that  found  the  bill  of  indict- 
ment : 

State  of  Georgia,  Richmond  county: 

Personally  appeared  Alexander  Phillip,  -who,  being  duly  sworn,  deposeth  and 
saitb  that  on  or  about  the  seventeenth  (17)  day  of  April,  in  the  year  eighteen 
hundred  and  sixty-one,  (1861,)  he,  as  a  justice  of  the  peace,  was  requested  by 
Foster  Blodgett  to  preside  at  an  election  to  be  held  for  officers  of  a  company 
styled  the  "Blodgett  Volunteers,"  about  entering  the  service  of  the  Confederate 
States;  that  at  said  election  he,  Foster  Blodgett,  was  elected  captain;  that  said 
company  left  Augusta,  in  said  county,  on  or  about  the  twenty-eighth  (28th)  day 
of  April  in  said  year,  with  orders  to  organize  with  the  Third  (3d)  Georgia  regi- 
ment in  Virginia.  At  the  election  for  officers  of  the  said  regiment  said  Foster 
Blodgett  was  a  candidate  for  major,  and  used  great  energy  to  be  elected,  but  was, 
however,  defeated.  He,  the  said  Foster  Blodgett,  with  his  company,  remained 
with  said  regiment  at  Portsmouth,  Va.,  until  the  latter  part  of  August  or  begin- 
ning of  September  of  said  year,  when  liis  company  was  transferred  and  ordered 
to  report  at  Richmond.  1  asked  him  the  reason  for  desiring  the  transfer.  lie  in- 
formed me  that  he  "thought  the  colonel  (A.  R.  Wright)  was  a  coward,  and 
would  not  be  willing  to  go  into  a  fight ;  that,  for  his  part,  he  wished  the  war 
carried  on  vigorously,  and  the  damned  Yankees  driven  out  of  the  South."  I  saw 
but  little  of  Captain  Blodgett  after  he  left  the  regiment  until  his  return  to  Au- 
gusta, Georgia,  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-five,  (1865,)  he  then  being  ap- 
pointed postmaster.  I  entered  the  Confederate  service  as  second  (2d)  lieutenant 
in  company  G  of  said  3d  regiment,  but  was,  upon  the  organization  of  the  regi- 
ment, appointed  quartermaster,  and  held  that  position  in  said  regiment  until 
about  the  first  of  September,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-four,  (1864.)  We  all 
entered  the  service  voluntarily;  there  was  no  coercion  used  to  get  any  one  into 
the  service  at  that  time,  for  there  were  more  volunteers  offering  than  could  be 
accepted.  ALEXANDER  PHILLIP. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me  this  24th  day  of  April,  1869. 

W.  MILO  OLIN,  J.  P. 

State  of  Georgia,  Richmond  County  : 

Personally  appeared  J.  L.  Ells,  who,  after  being  duly  sworn,  deposeth  and 
saj's,  that  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-one,  he  volunteered 
to  serve  in  the  Third  Regiment  of  Georgia  volunteers  ;  that  he  was  first  sergeant 
of  company  G  of  the  aforesaid  regiment ;  that  the  regiment  was  thoroughly- 
organized  in  Portsmouth,  Virginia,  early  in  the  month  of  May,  in  the  year  afore- 
said, by  the  election  of  field  officers.  At  that  election  Foster  Blodgett,  then 
captain  of  company  1,  otherwise  called  the  "Blodgett  Volunteers,"  was  a  candi- 
date for  major,  but  was  defeated  by  A.  H.  Lee,  captain  of  company  H.  The  said 
Foster  Blodgett,  with  his  company,  continued  to  perform  military  duty  in  the 
said  Third  Regiment  of  Georgia  volunteers  until  some  time  early  in  the  month  of 
August  of  the  year  aforesaid,  at  which  time  he  and  his  command  were  transferred 
to  another  arm  of  the  service.  Deponent  further  says  that  the  Third  Georgia 
regiment  aforesaid  was  composed  entirely  of  volunteers  until  subsequent  to  the 
sixteenth  day  of  April,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-two. 
Deponent  further  testifies  that  he  has  made  oath  to,  substantially,  the  same  fact 
herein  contained  before  a  grand  jury,  in  the  United  States  court,  in  the  city  of 
Savannah,  in  the  State  of  Georgia,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  of  our  Lord 
eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-seven,  which  grand  jury  returned  a  true  bill  of  indict- 
ment against  the  said  Foster  Blodgett  for  perjury.  JOHN  L.  ELLS. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me,  this  23d  day  of  April,  1869. 

W.  MILO  OLIN,  J.  P. 


12 

State  of  Geoiigia,  Richmond  County  : 

Personally  appeared  James  A.  Bennett,  who,  after  being  duly  sworn,  deposeth 
and  says  that  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-one,  (1861,)  iu  the  month 
of  April,  Foster  Blodgett,  John  Harper,  himself  and  one  or  two  others  organized  a 
volunteer  company  in  the  city  of  Augusta,  county  aforesaid ;  that  said  Foster 
Blodgett  was  very  energetic  in  getting  up  the  same — electioneered  and  was  elected 
captain  of  the  same,  ("the  Blodgett  Volunteers  ;")  that  said  company  was  mus- 
tered into  the  service  of  the  Confederate  States  on  the  twenty-seventh  (27th)  of 
said  month,  and  left  for  Virginia  on  the  following  day  with  orders  to  organize 
with  the  Third  (3d)  Georgia  regiment  at  Portsmouth;  said  regiment  was  ordered 
to  elect  field  officers,  and  that  said  Foster  Blodgett  opposed  and  ran  against  one 
A.  H.  Lee  for  the  office  of  major  of  said  regiment,  and  used  his  best  endeavors  to 
obtain  his  election,  but  was  defeated  ;  that  at  the  expiration  of  the  year  for  which 
said  company  Avent  into  service  they  reorganized,  when  said  Foster  Blodgett  tried 
very  bard  to  be  re-elected  captain,  but  on  failing,  returned  home.  Deponent  says 
that  said  Foster  Blodgett,  in  getting  up  said  company,  in  running  for  major  as 
aforesaid,  and  in  running  for  captain  again,  did  so  freely  and  voluntarily,  as  there 
was  no  compulsion,  coercion  or  influence  to  bear  on  him  ;  that  he  persuaded  mosi 
of  the  members  to  join  said  company,  and  that  after  arriving  in  Virginia  he  re- 
turned home,  in  Augusta,  and  obtained  about  thirty  more  recruits.  Deponent 
further  says  that  about  the  middle  of  April,  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty-one,  (1861,)  said  Foster  Blodgett  had  just  been  defeated  by  a  very  small 
majority  for  the  office  of  mayor  of  said  city  ;  that  he  told  deponent  that  he  had 
desired  the  office  that  he  might  be  the  first  Southern  maj'or  to  take  a  company 
into  the  service,  or  words  to  that  eflfect. 

JAMES  A.  BENNETT. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me,  this  twenty-third  day  of  April,  1869. 

W.  MILO  OLIN,  J.  P. 

State  of  Georgia,  Richmond  County  : 

Personally  appeared  William  W.  King,  who,  being  duly  sworn,  deposeth  and 
saith,  that  shortly  after  Foster  Blodgett's  defeat  by  a  small  majority  for  a  re- 
election to  the  office  of  mayor  of  the  city  of  Augusta,  in  said  county,  in  the  month 
of  April,  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-one,  (1861,)  said  Foster  Blodgett 
stated  to  him  that  he  was  very  sorry  deponent  had  not  supported  him ;  that  he 
had  desired  to  be  the  first  Southern  mayor  to  take  a  company  into  service,  or 
words  to  that  efifect. 

WILLIAM  W.  KING. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me,  this  twenty-third  day  of  April,  1869. 

W.  MILO  OLIN,  J.  P. 

State  of  Georgia,  Richmond  County : 

Personally  appeared  James  P.  Fleming  and  Daniel  B.  Thompson,  who  after  be- 
ing duly  sworn  deposeth  and  say  :  That  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty- 
one,  just  before  the  commencement  of  hostilities  between  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  and  some  of  the  Southern  States,  there  was  organized  in  the  city  of 
Augusta,  in  said  county,  a  vigilance  committee,  for  the  declared  and  avowed  pur- 
pose among  themselves  of  ridding  the  community  of  all  who  were  considered 
spies,  or  in  any  manner  opposed  to  the  action  of  the  State  of  Georgia,  then  claim- 
ing to  have  been  a  separate  government,  and  particularly  those  suspected  of  re- 
siding in  said  city  whose  sympathies  were  with  the  United  States,  and  that  Foster 
Blodgett,  then  mayor  of  the  city,  was  among  those  (if  not  the  very  first  man) 
who  organized  the  same,  presiding  at  and  advising  with  their  committees,  and  on 
resigning,  gave  as  his  reason  that  he  had  been  advised,  as  he  was  mayor  of  the 
city,  not  to  remain  with  said  vigilance  committee,  but  assured  them  that  he 
thought  the  committee  right,  and  heartily  approved  of  its  object ;  that  said  Fos- 
ter Blodgett  shortly  afterward  organized  a  large  company  and  went  into  the  ser- 
vice of  the  confederate  States. 

JAMES  P.  FLEMING, 
D.  B.  THOMPSON. 

Subscribed  and  Bworn  to  before  me,  this  22d  day  of  April,  1869. 

ALEX.  PHILLIP,  J.  P., 
398<A  J)iit.  Q.  M. 


13 

State  op  GEsaeu,  Riehnond  County : 

Personally  appeared  John  D.  Butt,  who  being  duly  sworn  deposeth  and  saith  : 
That  in  or  about  the  month  of  March,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixtj-'Six,  (1866,) 
Foster  Blodgett,  of  this  city,  told  him,  voluntarily,'that  he,  the  said  Foster  Blodg- 
ett,  who  was  then  postmaster  in  this  city,  had  never  taken  the  test  oath,  but 
that  his  son,  E.  F.  Blodgett,  had  taken  it  in  his  stead  ;  and  from  the  similarity  of 
names,  they  (meaning  the  authorities  at  Washington)  did  not  know  the  differ- 
ence ;  and  that  he  would  come  out  and  deny  ever  having  taken  the  test  oath,  but 
that  his  enemies  would  make  use  of  it  to  turn  him  out  of  office. 

JOHN  D.  BUTT. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me,  this  23d  day  of  April,  1869. 

ALEX.  PHILLIP,  J.  P., 
— -  398/A  List.  G.  M. 

State  of  Georgia,  Richmond  county: 

Personally  appeared  before  me,  a  notary  public  of  said  State  and  county,  Ker 
Boyce,  who,  being  duly  sworn,  deposeth  and  says  on  or  about  the  1st  day  of 
April,  1866,  a  short  time  before  the  election  for  mayor  of  the  city  of  Augusta, 
Mr.  Jas.  T.  Gardiner  and  Mr.  Foster  Blodgett  were  candidates  for  that  office ; 
that  deponent  was  frequently  asked  how  he  could  support  said  Blodgett  for  said 
office,  knowing,  as  he  did,  that  Blodgett  was  a  captain  of  a  company  in  the  Third 
Georgia  regiment,  and,  subsequent  to  the  termination  of  the  war,  had  taken  the 
test  oath,  in  order  that  he  might  be  appointed  postmaster  of  this  place ;  deponent 
replied  to  these  constant  inquiries,  that  if  it  was  proved  that  Blodgett  had  taken 
said  oath,  he  would  not  support  him.  Deponent  then  called  on  said  Blodgett, 
asking  if  such  was  the  case,  and  stated  it  was  a  public  rumor  that  he  (Blodgett) 
had  taken  said  oath,  and  if  it  was  true,  deponent  would  not  support  him.  Mr. 
Blodgett  assured  deponent  that  he  had  not  taken  said  oath.  Deponent  then  told 
Blodgett  to  come  out  in  the  daily  papers  and  deny  it — that  such  reports  would 
injure  him.  Blodgett  then  said  if  I  deny  it  I  will  lose  my  position  as  postmaster, 
which  is  worth  more  to  me  than  the  mayoralty.  What  Blodgett  said  satisfied 
me  that  he  had  not  taken  the  test  oath.  Deponent  then  said  he  would  support 
him.  Deponent  was  not  aware  he  had  taken  the  test  oath  until  his  appearance 
before  the  grand  jury  of  the  United  States  district  court  at  Savannah,  Ga. 

KER  BOYCE. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me  this  24th  day  of  April,  1869. 
[sEAir-N.  p.,  B.  C.J  ALEX.  PHILLIP,  N.  P.,  R.  C. 

State  of  Georgia,  Richmond  County  : 

Personally  appeared  George  W.  Summers,  who,  being  duly  sworn,  deposeth 
and  says  :  that  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  sixtj'-five,  (1865,)  shortly  after 
Foster  Blodgett  was  appointed  postmaster  in  and  for  the  city  of  Augusta,  he 
called  on  said  Foster  Blodgett  and  tried  to  obtain,  or  rather  to  get  him  to  sign  a 
petition  to  obtain  an  appointment  for  a  young  man  by  the  name  of  "Moore," 
when  said  Blodgett  remarked,  he  could  not  do  so  if  said  Moore  had  ever  been  in 
t  he  Confederate  service  ;  I  asked  him  how  he  came  to  occupy  the  position  of  post- 
master.    He  replied,  that  he  had  not  taken  the  test  oath. 

GEO.  W.  SUMMERS. 
Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me,  this  23d  day  of  April,  1869. 

ALEX.  PHILLIP,  J.  P., 

398th  District,  G.  M. 

State  or  Georgia,  Richmond  County  : 

I,  Ellery  M.  Brayton,  Clerk  of  the  Superior  Court  of  said  county,  do  certify 
that  W.  Milo  Olin  and  Alexander  Phillip,  whose  signatures  are  attached  hereto, 
were,  at  the  time  of  the  signing  of  the  same,  justices  of  the  peace,  and  that  Alex- 
ander Phillip  is  now  a  notary  public,  duly  authorized  by  law  to  administer  oaths. 

Given  under  my  hand  and  the  seal  of  the  Superior  Court,  this  27th  day  of 
April,  1869.  E.  M.  BRAYTON, 

[Seal  Sup.  Court  of  R.  C]  Per  F.  L.  Cooper, 

Deputy  aerk,  S.  C,  R.  C. 


14 

I,  Frederick  L.  Cooper,  Deputy  Clerk  of  said  court,  in  and  for  said  county,  do 
hereby  certify  that  the  foregoing  is  a  true  and  correct  copy  of  the  above  affida- 
vits, as  taken  from  the  originals. 

In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  ray  hand  and  affixed  the  seal  of  said 
court,  this  27th  day  of  April,  1869. 

[Seal  Sup.  Court  of  R.  C]  F.  L.  COOPER,  Deputy  Clerlt. 

THE  ATTEMPT  TO  DEFEAT  THE  BINGHAM  AMENDMENT  TO  THE  GEORGIA 
BILL,  NOW  BEFORE  THE  SENATE — THE  REASONS  THEREFOR. 

As  you  are  aware,  the  Georgia  "bill  as  reported  in  the 
House  of  Kepresentatives  by  the  chairman  of  the  Reconstruc- 
tion Committee,  General  Butler,  was  amended,  upon  motion 
of  Hon.  John  A.  Bingham.  Most  desperate  efforts  were 
made  to  defeat  the  amendment  by  Bullock,  Blodgett,  and  a 
crowd  of  their  friends,  who,  contrary  to  the  rules,  were  on 
the  floor  of  the  House,  trying  to  defeat  the  amendment, 
while  the  bill  was  being  discussed.  They  are  now  making 
the  same  desperate  efforts  to  defeat  that  amendment  in  the 
Senate.  I  received  a  dispatch  last  night  from  gentlemen  in 
Atlanta,  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy  : 

A  report  was  current  on  the  streets  to-night  that  Bullock  and  Blodgett's  pet 
scheme  before  Congress  was  about  to  fail.  It  is  said  they  telegraphed  here  to-day 
for  as  many  colored  members  of  the  legislature  as  possible  to  come  on  to  Wash- 
ington immediately.     You  will  readily  perceive  for  what. 

The  following  telegram  appeared  in  The  Morning  Chronicle 
this  morning  : 

Atlanta,  Ga.,  March  10. 

An  influential  delegation,  composed  of  colored  members  of  the  legislature,  left 
here  for  "Washington  to-night  to  protest  against  the  adoption  of  the  amendment 
by  the  Senate,  its  effect  being  to  place  them  entirely  in  the  power  of  the  men  who 
expelled  the  negroes  from  the  legislature,  and  reduce  the  colored  citizens  to  a  con- 
dition worse  than  slavery. 

The  dispatch  refers  to  the  Bingham  amendment.  It  is, 
therefore,  evident  that  these  colored  members  of  the  legisla- 
ture are  now  on  their  way  to  this  city  to  assist  Bullock  and 
Blodgett,  and  the  lobby  now  here,  to  defeat  the  Bingham 
amendment.     The  amendment  is  as  follows  : 

Provided,  That  nothing  in  this  act  contained  shall  be  construed  to  vacate  any 
of  the  offices  now  filled  in  the  State  of  Georgia,  either  by  the  election  of  the 
people  or  by  the  appointment  of  the  Governor  thereof  by  and  with  the  advice  and 


15 

consent  of  the  senate  of  said  State;  neither  shall  this  act  be  construed  to  extend 
the  official  term  of  any  officer  of  said  State  beyond  the  term  limited  by  the  con- 
stitution thereof,  dating  from  the  election  or  appointment  of  such  officer,  nor  to 
deprive  the  people  of  Georgia  of  the  right  under  their  constitution  to  elect  Sena- 
ators  and  Representatives  of  the  State  of  Georgia  in  the  j-ear  1870  ;  but  said  elec- 
tion shall  be  held  in  the  year  1870,  either  on  the  day  named  in  the  constitution  of 
faid  State  or  such  other  day  as  the  present  legislature  may  designate  by  law. 

If  that  amendment  is  adopted,  the  schemes  of  Bullock  and 
Blodgett  will  be  defeated,  and  hence  their  desperation.  If 
Bullock  is  unable  to  reappoint  the  State  officers,  he  Avill  be 
unable  to  control  the  legislature  and  remove  Dr.  Angier,  the 
treasurer.  Thus  his  financial  schemes  will  be  defeated,  and 
Blodgett  will  not  get  a  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate.  . 

Mr.  Caldwell  and  myself,  in  our  arguments  before  the  Ju- 
diciary Committee,  copies  of  which  I  hand  you  herewith, 
fully  explained  the  outrageous  proceedings  of  Bullock,  Blodg- 
ett, and  their  ring,  in  organizing  the  legislature  in  Jan- 
uary last,  and  the  wilful  manner  in  which  they  violated  your 
law.  I  also  respectfully  refer  you  to  the  report  of  the  Ju- 
diciary Committee  upon  that  subject.  The  legislature,  thus 
manipulated,  elected  Mr.  Blodgett  a  United  States  Senator 
for  six  years  from  the  4th  day  of  March,  1871.  The  law  of 
Congress  in  regard  to  the  election  of  Senators  is  as  follows  : 

The  legislature  of  each  State  which  shall  be  chosen  next  preceding  the  expira- 
tion of  the  time  fo?  which  any  Senator  was  elected  to  represent  said  State  in  Con- 
gress shall,  on  the  second  Tuesday  after  the  meeting  and  organization  thereof, 
proceed  to  elect  a  Senator  in  Congress  in  the  place  of  such  Senator  so  going  out 
of  office. 

[Brightly's  Digest  Laws  of  United  States,  page  130.] 

The  law  of  Georgia  in  regard  to  the  election  of  Senators  is 
as  follows  : 

The  elections  for  Senators  in  the  United  States  Congress  from  this  State  shall 
be  held  by  the  General  Assembly  during  the  sitting,  or  session,  which  immediately 
precedes  the  beginning  of  the  term  which  they  are  to  fill. 
[Code  of  Georgia,  sec.  1,363,  page  265.] 

In  order,  therefore,  that  the  election  of  Mr.  Blodgett  may 
be  considered  legal,  it  is  necessary  to  hold  that  the  present 
legislature  is  the  legislature  chosen  next  preceding  the  com- 
mencement of  the  term  for  which  he  was  elected,  and  to 
change  the  time  for  the  "  sitting  or  session  "  of  the  legisla- 


16 

tare.  If  the  Bingham  amendment  pass,  a  legislature  will  be 
elected  next  fall,  and  the  legislature  will  meet  as  now  pro- 
vided by  law.  That  will  be  the  legislature  chosen  next 
preceding  the  commencement  of  the  term  for  which  Blogdett 
has  been  elected,  and  the  first  session  of  that  legislature  will 
be  the  "sitting  or  session  which  immediately  precedes  the 
beginning  of  the  term"  for  which  he  has  been  elected.  In 
short,  if  the  Bingham  amendment  shall  pass  the  Senate, 
Blodgett  is  not  a  Senator  ;  if  it  is  defeated,  he  hopes  to  be 
admitted  to  a  seat  in  your  honorable  body.  In  view  of  these 
facts,  the  request  made  by  him  for  Gov.  Bullock  to  withhold 
his  certificate  of  election  does  not  appear  to  have  been  a 
great  sacrifice  on  his  part ;  in  fact,  that  was  what  is  called 
in  Georgia  a  "Blodgett  trick,"  intended  to  deceive  Con- 
gress. It  is  also  claimed  that  if  the  Bingham  amendment  is 
defeated  the  Representatives  from  Georgia  who  were  admitted 
to  the  40th  Congress  would  be  entitled  to  seats  in  the  pres- 
ent Congress,  and  that  the  new  Senators  would  be  seated. 
The  colored  members  of  the  Georgia  legislature  are,  of 
course,  deeply  interested  in  the  defeat  of  the  amendment_,  for 
they  hope  to  hold  their  seats  two  years  longer.  Thus  a  ring 
is  formed  of  men  who  ask  Congress  to  legislate  them  into 
offices  which  they  fear  they  will  loose  if  they  appeal  to  the 
people.  The  master-spirits  of  this  ring  are  Bullock  and 
Blodgett,  who  direct  the  whole  contest,  and  by  holding  the 
office-holders  and  office-seekers  together,  make  a  large  lobby 
to  importune  Congressmen.  I  deny  that  there  is  a  Repub- 
lican of  recognized  ability  in  Georgia,  (not  directly  or  indi- 
rectly interested  in  some  office  which  he  would  lose  if  the 
Bingham  amendment  pass,)  who  will  consider  its  passage 
detrimental  to  the  interests  of  the  Republican  party  of  that 
State ;  on  the  contrary  its  defeat  will  greatly  injure  the 
party.  I  know  that  the  ablest  Republicans  in  the  State  are 
opposed  to  extending  the  terms  of  officers  beyond  the  time 
for  which  they  were  elected. 

Sir,  you  cannot  force  Republican  ideas  upon  the  Southern 
people   at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.       If  you   desire   the 


17 

party  to  grow  strong  in  the  South,  you  must  appeal 
to  the  brains  and  the  wealth  of  the  South.  You  must 
gain  the  affections  of  the  people.  I  tell  you  to-day  that 
if  you  force  Bullock  and  Blodgett  on  to  the  people  of  Georgia 
against  their  will,  you  will  cause  the  Republican  party  to 
be  detested  forever  by  a  large  majority  of  the  people  of  that 
State,  and  then  I  pity  the  poor  colored  people.  If  you,  by 
Congressional  action,  allow  Bullock  to  plunder  the  people, 
and  allow  Blodgett  to  get  a  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate, 
which  he  has  gained  through  fraud,  it  will  be  useless  to 
attempt  to  build  up  a  Republican  party  in  Georgia.  The 
people,  under  such  circumstances,  will  defeat  the  party  next 
fall  by  eighty  thousand  majority.  We  must  appeal  to  the 
people  at  that  time,  for,  in  November,  Representatives  to  the 
42d  Congress  must  be  elected.  If  you  attempt  to  prolong 
the  term  of  officers  in  the  State  beyond  the  time  for  which 
they  were  elected^  the  people  will  send  a  unanimous  Demo- 
cratic delegation  to  the  42d  Congress.  What  good  will  be 
accomplished  by  prolonging  the  terms  of  the  members  of 
the  legislature  ?  We  must  elect  Representatives  some  time, 
and  if  the  people  feel  that  they  have  been  outraged,  they 
will,  when  they  get  a  chance,  be  more  certain  to  wijie  out 
obnoxious  laws.  Let  us  appeal  to  the  people,  convince  and 
convert  them,  and  thus  make  our  reforms  permanent.  This 
can  never  be  done  if  Congress  force  upon  the  people  obnoxious 
men.  If  Blodgett  wants  a  seat  in  the  Senate,  let  him  appeal 
to  the  people  and  get  it,  and  not  attempt  to  secure  such  a 
position  by  a  mere  trick. 

If  Congress  shall  sustain  these  men,  and  allow  them  to  ex- 
tend their  terms  of  office  as  they  desire,  I  have  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  in  less  than  two  months  a  convention  of  the  people 
will  be  held,  composed  of  Republicans  and  Democrats,  who 
will  unite  to  save  the  State  from  bankruptcy  and  ruin.  An 
address  will  be  issued,  and  they  will  appeal  to  the  people  of 
the  country  to  save  them  from  this  corrupt  ring  that  is  plun- 
dering their  State,  and  that,  against  their  will,  is  fastened 
upon  them  for  two  years  longer.     Will  not  the  people  of  the 


18 

country  listen  to  the  appeal  of  an  impoverished  people,  thus 
begging  for  protection?  Can  the  Eepuhlican  party  carry 
such  a  load  ? 

A  protest  was  presented  in  the  Senate,  to-day,  by  Mr. 
Revels,  of  Mississippi,  signed  by  nineteen  colored  members 
of  the  Georgia  legislature.  They  ask  that  you  amend  the 
Georgia  bill  by  striking  out  the  Bingham  amendment.  This 
is  another  "  Blodgett  trick,' '  and,  if  the  truth  could  be  known, 
it  would  appear  that  Bullock  and  himself  drew  up  this  pe- 
tition, and  caused  it  to  be  signed  and  sent  to  Mr.  Revels. 

The  assertion  made  by  these  colored  members  of  the  legis- 
lature, that  they  represent  90,000  voters,  is  absurd.  They 
do  not  represent  one-fourth  of  that  number.  I  deny  that 
the  colored  men  of  Georgia  desire  these  men  to  hold  office 
two  years  longer.  It  is  natural  that  they  should  ask  you  to 
defeat  the  Biogham  amendment_,  for  they  hope  thus  to  con- 
tinue in  office ;  and  they  are  selfish,  like  other  men,  and 
being  ignorant,  they  do  not  realize  that  by  tricking  the 
people  out  of  an  election  they  injure  the  Republican  party. 
I  have  as  good  a  right  to  speak  for  the  colored  people  of 
Georgia  as  these  men.  The  paper  of  which  I  am  editor, 
TTie  Georgia  Bepublican,  circulates  in  every  county  in  Geor- 
gia, and  is  read  by  the  leading  colored  men  in  most  of  the 
counties.  Although  I  have  opposed  the  corrupt  schemes  of 
Bullock  and  Blodgett  for  months,  and  although  a  Republi- 
can convention,  packed  by  these  men,  using  their  immense 
patronage,  seemed  to  sustain  them,  and  although  I  was  de- 
nounced by  their  pimps  as  an  enemy  of  the  colored  race,  yet 
the  following  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted  by  the 
largest  and  most  influential  convention  of  colored  men  ever 
assembled  in  Georgia — a  convention  representing  nearly 
every  county  in  the  State  : 

Office  Seceetaby  Mechanics  and  Laborers'  Association, 

Augusta,  Ga.,  November  22,  1869. 
Sir — The  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted  by  the  Mechanics 
and  Laborers'  Association  of  Georgia,  recently  in  session  at  Macon  : 

"Whereas,  The  Georgia  Republican,  of  Augusta,  has  published  the  call  for  this 
convention  without  expense  to  the  convention,  and  has  advocated  the  assembling, 
while  others  have  opposed  it,  therefore 


19 

"  Be  it  resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  conrention  be  tendered  to  Colonel  J.  E. 
Bryant,  the  editor  of  said  ^aper,  for  the  said  courtesy  thus  extended  to  us,  and  for 
his  defence  of  our  race  against  the  assault  of  our  enemies. 

"Resolved,  That  until  a  paper  is  established  by  our  race  as  the  organ  of  the 
labor  movement,  that  the  editor  of  the  Georgia  Republican  be  requested  to  publish 
our  proceedings  and  act  as  the  organ  of  the  labor  movement." 
I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  &c., 

WM.  J.  WHITE, 
Secretary  M.  and  L.  Association. 
Col.  J.  E.  Bryant, 

Editor  Georgia  Republican. 

I  also  call  your  attention  to  the  following  communication. 
It  was  given  me  for  another  purpose,  but  is  proof  of  what  I 
have  said.  The  original  is  in  my  possession,  if  you  desire 
to  see  it : 

Augusta,  Georgia,  Jamiary  6,  1870. 
Hon.  Alexander  Ramsey, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Post  Offices  and  Post  Roads  : 
Sir — The  name  of  Colonel  J.  E.  Bryant,  sent  by  his  Excellency,  the  President, 
to  the  Senate  for  confirmation  as  postmaster  at  this  place,  now  awaits,  we  are 
informed,  the  action  of  the  committee  of  which  you  are  chairman.  Under  these 
circumstances,  and  with  a  view  to  secure  a  favorable  report  from  your  committee, 
the  undersigned,  citizens  of  Augusta,  desire  to  urge  upon  you  the  following  good 
reasons  for  his  confirmation  : 

1.  He  served  three  years  in  the  United  States  army  during  the  war  for  the 
Union. 

2.  In  1865  he  came  to  this  place  as  agent  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  and  was 
at  that  time  the  only  man  in  this  whole  country  to  openly  advocate  giving  to  the 
colored  people  the  rights  consequent  upon  their  freedom,  and  who  openly  worked 
for  their  advantage,  and  accorded  to  them  their  just  rights  as  men,  and  for  this 
he  obtained  the  hatred  of  the  mass  of  the  people  of  this  community. 

3.  He  has,  from  the  first  to  the  present  time,  been  a  consistent  friend  to  the 
colored  people,  and  has  given  his  time  and  means  to  their  welfare,  advocating 
their  cause,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  loyal  citizens  and  only  well-wishers  of  the 
Government  in  this  section,  barring  a  very  few  whites. 

4.  He  has  been  and  is  now  a  staunch  member  of,  and  has  ably  supported,  the 
Republican  party,  stumping  the  Ku-Klux  region  of  the  State,  and  being  the  only 
one  to  do  so  who  preached  good,  sound  Republican  doctrine,  organizing  the 
colored  people  into  leagues  and  clubs,  and  endeavoring  by  all  means  in  his  power, 
and  hesitating  at  no  sacrifice  or  personal  danger,  to  secure  the  triumph  of  our 
party,  and  his  labor  was  crowned  with  great  success,  though  much  of  it  is  now 
barren  through  the  action  of  the  enemies  of  ihe  United  States. 

5.  Mr.  Bryant  is  now  editing  ^'  The  Georgia  Republican,"  and  is  doing  good 
with  it:  if  he  has  the  means  to  continue,  he  will  do  the  party  and  country  much 
more  good,  in  our  opinion,  but  if  not  confirmed,  the  paper  will  probably  die. 

6.  He  has  given  four  years'  faithful  service  and  thousands  of  dollars  to  the  cause 
without  reward.    Shall  he  have  nothing  for  this? 

7.  Mr.  Bryant  has  differed  from  other  leaders  of  the  party  in  this  State,  but  if 
wrong,  all  men  are  liable  to  err,  and  he  is  now  and  has  always  been  ready  to  sup- 
port any  measure  declared  by  Congress  to  be  right,  claiming  that  body  to  be  the 
proper  judge  of  what  was  best  for  the  party. 

8.  Those  opposed  to  Mr.  Bryant's  confirmation  control  the  whole  of  the  State 
patronage.  Mr.  Bryant  asks  for  the  post  office  at  this  place  alone.  Can  you  ask 
him  to  forego  his  claims  after  the  service  he  has  rendered  ? 

9.  Colonel  Bryant  occupies  the  position  of  leader  to  a  majority  of  the  colored 
people,  beside  a  number  of  whites.  Is  the  party  so  strong  in  this  State  that  you 
can  afford  to  crush  one  faction  to  satisfy  a  personal  feeling  of  another? 


20 

We  most  earnestly  request  you,  sir,  to  examine  the  foregoing,   believing  that 
sufiBcient  will  be  found  there,  however  roughly  put  together,  to  authorize  Colonel 
Bryant's  confirmation,  and  we  urge  that  confirmation  by  every  consideration  of 
the  good  of  our  party  and  the  future  of  our  State. 
Yours  respectfully, 

J.S.  FANNIN, 
Collector  Internal  Revenue  3d  District  of  Georgia. 
HENRY  WATTS, 
Pastor  Springfield  Baptist  Churchy  {Colored.) 
J.  E    H.  CONTURIN,  U.S.  Ganger. 
DAVID  PORTER, 
Assistant  Assessor  Revenue,  late  1st  Lieut.  U.  S.  A. 
HERMAN  THUM,  Asst.  Assessor. 
WILLIAM  M.  MOORE, 
Chief  Clerk,  Collectors  office,  3d  Georgia. 
ELLIS  LYONS, 

Not.  Pub.,  ex-officio  J,  P. 
ROBERT  T.  KENT, 
Pastor  Green  Street  M.  E.  Church,  [Colored.) 
HENRY  JACKSON, 
Pastor  3d  Baptist  Church,  (  Colored. ) 
E.  M.  BRAYTON, 

Clerk  Superior  Court. 
JOHN  REYNOLDS, 

Not.  Rep.,  ex-officio  J.  P. 

This  is  not  a  contest  for  oragainst  colored  men's  rights.  The 
proposition  is  simply  this  :  Shall  office-holders  give  up  their 
offices  at  the  time  the  people  intended  they  should  when  they 
were  elected,  or  shall  they,  by  Congressional  action,,  hold 
them  two  years  against  the  will  of  the  people  ?  Is  it  a  Re- 
publican form  of  government  when  the  people  are  thus  ruled  ? 

I  believe,  sir,  that  my  record  shows  that  I  have  been  a 
friend  of  the  colored  race,  and  I  assure  you,  with  all  the 
earnestness  of  my  nature,  that,  in  my  opinion,  the  attempt 
to  force  these  men  upon  the  people  of  Georgia  for  two  years 
longer  than  the  time  for  which  they  were  elected  would  prove 
to  be  most  disastrous  to  the  colored  people  of  that  State.  As 
their  friend,  and  God  knows  I  am  their  friend,  I  beg  that 
you  will  not  advocate  so  monstrous  a  proposition.  These 
colored  office-seekers  do  not  realize  the  injury  they  do  to  their 
race  by  thus  attempting  to  hold  office  against  the  will  of  the 
people. 

Neither  Gov.  Bullock  nor  Foster  Blodgett  assisted  us  to 
secure  political  rights  for  colored  men  until  the  reconstruc- 
tion acts  were  passed.  Mr.  Blodgett  was  a  delegate  to  the 
Johnson  convention  held  in  Philadelphia  in  the  fall  of  1866. 


21 

At  that  time  he  was  assisting  our  enemies  as  he  was  during 
the  war.  A  week  later,  I  was  in  the  same  city  attending  the 
Southern  Loyalists'  Convention,  assisting  our  friends  as  I 
did  during  the  war.  I  now  come  to  Washington  represent- 
ing the  National  Republican  Club  of  Georgia,  composed  of 
the  ablest  and  wealthiest  Republicans  in  Georgia.  We  have 
banded  together  to  save  the  Republican  party  of  Georgia, 
and  I  know  that  I  represent  every  member  of  that  club  when 
I  urge  the  adoption  of  the  Bingham  amendment.  The  men 
who  did  most  to  build  up  the  Republican  party  in  Georgia 
are  members  of  our  club. 

Will  you,  sir,  now  listen  to  the  men  who  have  been  bat- 
tling for  years  to  secure  political  rights  to  colored  men,  or 
will  you  listen  to  those  who  fought  that  cause  until  the  vic- 
tory was  won  ?  It  is  true  that  colored  men  also  ask  for  the 
defeat  of  the  Bingham  amendment.  You  must  remember, 
sir,  that  they  were  slaves  but  yesterday ;  that  they  have 
been  kept  in  ignorance,  and  that  cunning  men  like  Blodgett, 
by  appealing  to  their  passions,  can  easily  lead  them.  It  is 
one  thing  to  give  these  bondmen  political  rights  ;  it  is  quite 
another  thing  for  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  to  be 
instructed  by  them. 

Ex-Governor  Brown,  Hon.  Joshua  Hill,  and  Hon.  A.  T, 
Akerman,  the  ablest  Republican  leaders  of  Georgia,  are  oj)- 
posed  to  the  policy  of  Bullock  and  Blodgett.  So  are  Colonel 
T.  P.  Saifold,  Hon.  William  Markham,  Hon.  N.  L.  Angier, 
General  Austell,  and  other  wealthy  Republicans.  But  Bul- 
lock and  Blodgett,  by  appealing  to  the  cupidity  and  passions 
of  the  colored  members  of  the  General  Assembly,  have  been 
able  to  control  them,  and  with  their  immense  patronage  they 
are  able  to  control  a  majority  of  the  Republican  members  of 
the  legislature. 

I  regret  that  I  am  obliged  to  differ  from  some  of  my  Re- 
publican friends,  and  particularly  from  yourself.  In  my 
boyhood  I  watched  and  admired  yoiir  course.  In  your 
struggle  for  the  downtrodden  people  of  America  I  have 
sympathized  wath  you.      Years  ago  I  read  your  speeches 


22 

with  delight,  and  my  own  views  were  moulded  to  some 
extent  by  you  ;  but  I  have  labored  too  long  and  too  hard  to 
assist  in  building  up  a  Republican  party  in  Georgia  to  see 
it  destroyed  without  entering  my  protest,  If  you  so  legis- 
late that  the  Republican  party  of  Georgia  is  destroyed  for- 
ever, you  cannot  say  that  I  have  not  warned  you.  I  have 
sacrificed  much  in  taking  my  present  position.  The  Presi- 
dent gave  me  an  office  worth  four  thousand  dollars  a  year. 
It  was  a  position  that  I  very  much  desired,  but  to  take  my 
seat  in  the  General  Assembly  I  was  obliged  to  resign 
the  office  given  me  by  the  President.  There  are  times 
when  we  owe  a  duty  to  our  country  beyond  that  which 
we  owe  to  ourselves  or  to  our  families.  In  my  opinion  that  time 
came  when  an  attempt  was  made  to  destroy  the  Republic, 
and  I  gave  my  services  and  risked  my  life  to  assist  in  saving 
the  Government.  Now  I  believe  the  time  has  come  again,  when 
I  see  a  ring  of  wicked  men  plundering  my  State.  I  regret  that 
a  larger  number  of  Georgia  Republicans  who  privately  tell 
me  that  I  am  right  will  not  openly  assist  me  in  convincing 
Republican  Congressmen  of  that  fact.  But,  sir,  I  must  do 
my  duty  ;  and  actuated  by  the  same  feelings  which  prompted 
me  to  risk  my  life  on  the  battle-field,  I  am  now  willing  to 
sacrifice  everything  in  this  attempt  to  save  my  adopted  State 
from  these  desperate  and  reckless  men. 

I  am,  very  respectfully, 

J.  E.  BRYANT. 
National  Hotel, 

Washington,  D.  C,  March  11,  1870. 


Washington,  I),  C, 

March  12,  1870. 

I  hereby  certify  to  and  fully  endorse  what  Col.  Bryant  has 
written  in  relation  to  aff'airs  in  Georgia. 

J.  BOWLES, 

Late  Lieut.  Col.  U.  S.  Vols. 


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